Tales from Pete's World 12 - Fang and Talon
by SciFiFanForever
Summary: The metacrisis Doctor, John Smith and his wife Rose get drawn into a back story in Pete's World involving a monarch of the realm.
1. Whoops! The TARDIS Gets It Wrong Again

**Chapter 1**

 **Whoops! The TARDIS Gets It Wrong Again**

Rose Smith and her children returned to the TARDIS console room having been to the wardrobe to find clothing suitable for 1888. She was wearing a purple victorian dress, complete with bustle, and a cape with hood. Eyeulf and Jason were wearing brown trousers and jackets, with white shirts underneath, whilst their sister Juleshka was wearing a simple white smock dress.

'So, in "Dad's World", the nineteenth century pretty much ran parallel to how it did in our world?' Rose asked John as she helped him land the TARDIS.

'Pretty much, yeah,' John confirmed, who was wearing his usual brown, pinstriped suit. 'Lots of wars over territory and resources. Namely the Napoleonic wars, and the battle of Trafalgar in europe. American civil war in the states.'

'Sounds delightful,' Rose said sarcastically.

'Cool!' Eyulf declared with childlike enthusiasm, blissfully unaware of the misery and suffering caused by all that conflict.

'Yeah,' John said sadly, and then brightened. 'But don't forget Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, probably one of the greatest and most influential statements of national purpose ever uttered.'

'Oh yeah. What was it? Four score and seven years,' Rose tried to remember from a history lesson at school all those years ago.

'That was it yes. You see, there was the good stuff as well. All that classical music. Beethoven was belting out some of his best tunes. Van Gogh, Monet and Turner were producing some brilliant art, and epic literature from our mate Charlie Dickens, along with Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.'

'Oh yeah, Charles. He was lovely,' Rose remembered with a fond smile.

'AND SCIENCE!' John almost shouted with enthusiasm. 'Let's not forget the science. The steam age, internal combustion engines and electricity.'

'And the Eiffel Tower Dad?' Eyulf asked, wondering about his school project about the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. The teacher had asked the class to do some online research about the Fair at home so that they could create a collage on the wall of the classroom. "Oh, I think we can do better than online searches" his father had said.

'Yes! Let's not forget engineering. The hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution. Outside of those doors, it's August 1888, and the second stage is being completed. Let's go and have a look,' John said as he made his way down the ramp towards the doors. He opened the left hand door for his wife and children to step outside.

'Are there a lot of open spaces in Paris in 1888?' Rose asked from outside.

'Not really,' John answered as he stepped out to join them. 'They've got some nice parks and gar . . . dens,' he continued with a frown, shutting the TARDIS door behind him. He was looking at heath and moorland. Nothing like the neat and sculptured parks and gardens of nineteenth century Paris.

From behind the TARDIS, they heard the sound of rifles being cocked.

'Kids,' Rose said in a calm but urgent voice, reaching out for them to take her hands. She gathered them to her and backed up against the doors of the TARDIS.

John leaned to the side and looked around the side of the blue wooden police box. 'Oh!'

'Oh?' Rose asked. 'Is that a good "oh" or a bad "oh"? Cos it sounded like it could be a bad "oh".'

'It was an "I think this is 1879 and not 1888" kind of "oh",' John said in a hushed tone.

Rose's eyes went wide. '1879! You don't mean . . ?'

'You will explain your presence,' an authoritative voice interrupted in a Scottish accent. And the presence of this woman and the children,' he added as Rose stepped into view to see if her ears were deceiving her.

'Are we in Scotland?' John asked.

'How can you be ignorant of that?' the soldier on horseback enquired.

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Och. Not again.'

John was about to tell her not to do the accent, as he'd decided not to use it this time around, when he realised what he had heard. He looked at his wife with raised eyebrows. 'That wasn't half bad. You've been practicing.'

'Will you identify yourself, sir?' the soldier asked.

'Of course Captain Reynolds. I'm Doctor John Smith, from London, and I'm visiting the moors with my family,' John told him.

Reynolds looked surprised. 'You know me sir?'

'Yes, I do. And I know whom you are escorting in that carriage.'

Reynolds aimed his revolver directly at John, and the other soldiers pulled their rifles tighter into their shoulders. 'You will explain yourself. Now.'

['John, is this what I think it is?'] Rose thought to her husband.

['Parallel Earth. Parallel Queen Victoria,'] John thought back.

['And parallel Heamovariform. Why has the TARDIS brought us here? Isn't our bein' here gonna mess with the time line?'] Rose queried.

'I would love to explain, but I'm afraid I can't,' John told Reynolds.

'At the moment, you are an unknown quantity sir. You may be friend, or you may be foe. If you really know who is in the carriage, then you know I cannot take the risk that you are a foe. If you do not explain yourself, I will shoot you where you stand.'

'FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN!' Rose shouted angrily. 'I am his wife and these are our children. If he were a threat, would he place his family in danger?'

'Let them approach,' a cultured female voice said from the carriage.

'I don't think that's wise, Ma'am,' Reynolds said.

'Let them approach,' the woman said with authority.

Reynolds holstered his pistol. 'You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference.'

A footman opened the door to reveal the Imperial Widow who was dressed in black.

'Children, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith.'

Eyulf's eyes went wide. 'Wha? Really? THE Queen Victoria?'

The Queen gave EJ a stern look. 'Yes young man. The very same.'

Rose put a hand on her son's shoulder. 'Rose Smith, Ma'am. And my apologies for my son's lack of deference.'

'I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. In fact it's refreshing to see the innocent enthusiasm of youth,' Victoria said to Rose before addressing John. 'And you Doctor Smith. You were about to explain how it is that you knew I was travelling this road, when I myself did not know until a few hours ago.'

John scratched the back of his head. 'Ah. Well. About that . . .'

'Think carefully before you answer Doctor. I may not be able to curtail Captain Reynolds' eagerness to protect me from a perceived threat,' Victoria warned him.

'Blimey. Talk about Hobson's choice,' John muttered.

'Who is Hobson?' Victoria asked. 'Is he the one who told you I would be on this road?'

['John, what do we do? Either way we're gonna change history,'] Rose thought to him.

['Or, maybe we are going to make history.']

['Eh?']

['Think about it. The Torchwood Institute. Founded by this lady here in 1879 to protect Britain's borders from unimaginable enemies.']

['So you reckon we were always goin' to come to this time and place? Even before we first came to this universe?']

['Well if we didn't, there wouldn't be a Torchwood Institute in this world. They wouldn't have developed the dimension buttons . . .'] John reasoned.

['And when I lost my grip on that lever, no one was going to jump in and save me from falling into the breach,'] Rose finished, following his thought processes telepathically. ['Oh God. That's scary.']

['Yep. A paradox. You cease to exist and we all disappear from reality.']

['Tell her! Quick!'] Rose thought at him urgently.

John thought on his feet and quickly concocted a story. 'Very well your Majesty. We were out on the moors, giving our children a taste of adventure. The blue wooden shed contains a few days of supplies, and a tent which we were about to erect when a messenger came galloping towards us with a warning from the Lord Provost, regarding your safety.'

'A warning about my safety?' Victoria asked. 'Why would the Lord Provost choose you to be the recipient of this warning?'

'The Lord Provost, George Jamieson is an old family friend who trusts my abilities in such matters. He received a telegram from an informant which told him of a plot to harm your Majesty. That tree on the line was no accident, and I fear that there is danger for you ahead.'

'You know of the tree on the line? I suppose that means you are telling the truth. Tell me Doctor, does the Lord Provost know what danger lies ahead?'

'He does Ma'am. He believes someone is planning to eliminate you and take your throne.'

'I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned,' Victoria informed him with a hint of humour. 'I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun.'

'What about the throat of a werewolf?' Rose muttered to herself.

'Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow,' Reynolds informed them.

'Bad idea,' John said. 'You should travel on through the night.'

'Across the moors in darkness? Are you mad sir?' Reynolds asked him.

'No Doctor. We are weary of this carriage. Some respite would be most welcome. We will shelter with Sir Robert . . . Captain, as Doctor Smith seems to have knowledge of a conspiracy to assassinate me, he and his family will travel with us,' Victoria commanded.

'Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving . . . it's almost nightfall.'

'Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts,' Victoria said with a glint in her eye as she looked at the children. 'Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Come along, climb aboard.' The Smiths climbed into the carriage, with John sitting next to the queen, and Rose sitting opposite with the children. 'Drive on!'

The carriage started to trundle down the dirt road, and Jason turned to his mother. 'Mum. If she's the queen, why isn't she wearing a crown?'

Rose smiled at her son. 'She doesn't wear it all the time. Only on special occasions.'

'Oh,' he said in understanding.

The edges of Victoria's mouth gave the briefest hint of a smile on her stern face, as though it were an unfamiliar and unwelcome visitor there. 'And besides, it's very heavy. You know, I used to be a whole foot taller before I became queen and started wearing it.'

Rose raised a hand to her mouth to hide a giggle. John had a lopsided smile on his face as he looked out of the window.

['Right. We need to prepare for what comes next,'] he thought to Rose. ['Can you remember how things unfold when we get to the house?']

['It's kinda hard to forget somethin' like that. Why, what are y'gonna do?']

['Give the Captain the heads up on what's about to occur.'] He pulled down the window in the door. 'By your leave Ma'am, I would speak with Captain Reynolds and discuss tactics.' Without waiting for royal approval or permission, he stuck his head out of the window. 'Allons-y your Majesty,' he said with his enthusiastic, cheeky grin, and clambered out of sight onto the roof of the carriage. A long, gangly arm reached down and pulled the window shut.

Queen Victoria just sat there, looking at the now closed window. 'A most unusual and remarkable man,' she said out loud.

Rose laughed. 'You have no idea Ma'am.'

'CAPTAIN,' John called out from the roof. Reynolds cantered his horse to come alongside.

'Doctor Smith. What can I do for you?'

'We must make preparations for when we arrive at the home of Sir Robert. There is a rogue sect of monks from the monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. They have a rabid wolf which they plan to release so that it will attack and infect the queen,' John told him, thinking it was probably best not to mention werewolves and aliens.

Reynolds had a confident smirk on his face. 'Then let them release it Sir. We have enough rifles to take down a tiger, let alone a wolf.'

'You reckon? This is no ordinary wolf Captain. And the monks have plans to render your men unconscious and relieve them of their weapons.'

'A conspiracy! It seems the Lord Provost was right to trust you with this message. Tell me Doctor Smith, do you have a plan to protect the queen from these monks?'

John rubbed the back of his neck. 'Wellll. I don't really do plans. But the monks have a plan, and they don't know that I know what it is, so I think we can put a spanner in the works.'


	2. Torchwood Revisited

**Chapter 2**

 **Torchwood Revisited**

 **Torchwood House.**

 **Near the Glen of Saint Catherine.**

 **Cairngorms, Scotland.**

Sir Robert MacLeish looked out of an upstairs window with a heavy heart as he saw the royal coach and mounted soldiers enter the cobbled courtyard of his ancestral home. On any other occasion he would have been overjoyed to receive a visit from the queen. His wife Isobel would have shone as a perfect host. The sight of the coach invoked childhood memories of the visits of Prince Albert to his father's observatory in the attic of the tower.

Those were happier times, when his father George, would work on the unusual telescope with the Prince Consort, Albert of Saxe Coburg, who would visit when holidaying at Balmoral Castle to the north west. Today though, Isobel was being held with the serving staff in the cellars by the monks from Saint Catherine's Monastery. There was something else in the cellar also. Something in a cage. Something unnatural. Something deadly.

Sir Robert took a hesitant breath. 'I can't do this. It's treason,' he told the bald headed monk behind him, who was dressed as a butler. He had introduced himself as Father Angelo, the Prior of the monastery in the adjacent glen.

'Then your wife will suffer the consequences. And believe me, Sir Robert, she will be devoured,' Angelo said with quiet menace into Robert's ear. 'Now, go and greet your queen.'

Robert gave him a defiant stare before heading downstairs to the main entrance. 'If any harm befalls my wife . . .' He left the sentence unfinished, leaving the renegade monk to imagine what what fate would befall him.

'If you follow my instructions, then no harm will come to your wife and staff. Remember, no warnings or coded messages.'

'Yes. I know.' Robert stepped out into the courtyard, where two more monks, dressed as serving staff, stood either side of the doors.

'Your Majesty,' Robert said with a respectul bow.

'Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency,' Victoria said in greeting. 'And how is Lady Isobel?'

'She's indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on,' Robert replied, trying to make the house as unappealing as possible without actually warning them off. If the queen chose to leave of her own accord, then he could hardly be blamed for that, could he?

'Oh, not at all. I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is charming, if rustic,' Victoria said kindly. 'It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside? Oh, and we have a family from London travelling with us. I hope you don't mind.'

Robert nodded. 'Of course not Ma'am.' And then saw Rose help the children out of the carriage. 'You have children!' Robert said with a hint of alarm in his voice.

John wandered over with his hands in his pockets. 'Is that a problem?'

Robert glanced at Angelo before looking back at John. 'Er, no. Not really. It's just that we don't have any facilities to entertain children.'

John gave him a grin and looked back at his family. 'Oh, they're good kids. They'll entertain themselves. They've got great imaginations. A big old house like this; they'll make up all sorts of stories.' He leaned in close to Robert and lowered his voice. 'They'll probably make up a story about your scary butler being some kind of mad monk or something.'

Robert straightened up and looked surprised. 'What?'

John just smiled and waggled his eyebrows knowingly.

'Shall we proceed?' Victoria asked, and moved through the main entrance to the cool interior.

'Makerson and Ramsey,' Reynolds called out. 'You will escort the property. Hurry up.'

'Yes, sir,' the two soldiers responded. They took a small locked box from the carriage and carried it into the house.

['Is that the Koh-I-Noor in there?'] Rose asked in John's head.

['Yeah. That'd be it. He was very cagey about it before. Let's try again.'] 'So what's in there, then?' he asked Reynolds.

'Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir. The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions.'

['Yep! That's it.']

'You heard the orders. Positions,' a sergeant ordered.

'Sir!' the soldiers answered and moved out.

Rose felt a shiver down her spine as the entered the house, remembering her time in the original Torchwood House, in the original universe.

John grinned at the stoney faced Angelo as he went past. 'All right big fellah?'

Angelo nodded politely.

'You don't have a taller brother do you? Works in the service of a family called Addams?' John asked. Angelo just looked at him with the same stoney expression. 'What was his name? Lurch! That was it.' John looked away and went into the house.

['Is is wise to antagonise the bad guys?'] Rose thought to him.

['If it unsettles them, then yeah. Best to keep them off balance.']

['So, if I remember correctly, Queen Vic is goin' to ask to see the telescope next,'] Rose thought.

'Sir Robert. My husband spoke often of your father's work. I would very much like to see what drew him here so often,' Victoria said on cue.

['Told ya,'] Rose gloated.

'Of course Ma'am. It's in the Observatory in the attic of the tower,' Robert said. 'This way.' He led them down a passageway.

['The power of prediction. It's as if you know what's going to happen next,'] John thought with a grin.

EJ's eyes lit up. 'They have their own observatory? Wicked!'

Rose was continuing her mental conversation over the verbal exchange. ['I did know what happens next, but I'm hoping that's goin' to change.']

'In what way is an astronomical observatory wicked?' Victoria asked EJ as they climbed the stairs.

['Oh yes it's going to change. And we're the ones who are going to change it!']

EJ was stumped by the queen's question. 'Erm . . .'

'I'm sorry Ma'am. It's the young people's way of speaking these days,' Rose explained. 'My son means that the anticipation of such excitement feels wicked.'

['Ooh, nice,'] John complimented.

['Nice one Mum,'] EJ thought to her.

['Yeah. Way to go Mum,'] Juleshka added.

Rose was feeling quite pleased with herself. ['Thank you.']

'Well. Let us hope the young man can curb his excitement so that we can avoid any wickedness,' Victoria said with a hint of humour in her voice.

Sir Robert opened a door at the top of the stairs and led them into a large, square room with a glass roof. A large bronze telescope sat opposite the door, poking through the glass roof to the heavens beyond.

'This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour,' Victoria said.

'All my father's work,' Robert told her. 'Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself.'

'That is SO cool,' EJ said in awe, and then looked at the queen. 'Er, the metal. It must be cool, stickin' outside like that.'

['Nice recovery Son,'] John thought to him. 'I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I?' he asked Sir Robert, gesturing towards the telescope.

'Help yourself.'

John approached the telescope with his son by his side, both eager to examine the fine example of victorian engineering. Rose, Juleshka and Jason moved to look at the aiming mechanism. 'What did he model it on?'

'I know nothing about it,' Robert told him. 'To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories.'

John and Rose confirmed that it was exactly the same as the "telescope" in the other Torchwood House in the old universe. 'Interesting design, don't you think son?' John asked.

'Yeah. It doesn't seem to be configured as an optical telescope at all. It seems more like a light collector for gathering and concentrating specific wavelengths of light.'

John looked at Rose, and she could see he was fit to explode with pride. He affectionately ruffled EJ's hair. 'Good lad.'

'It's beautifully made,' Juleshka observed.

'Quite so,' Victoria agreed. 'And the imagination of it should be applauded.'

Rose could see Father Angelo and his monks listening by the door. What if they realised the true function of the telescope and disabled it? She tried to steer the conversation away from its true purpose 'It appears to be nothing more than a folly, A fanciful device.'

Victoria frowned. 'This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales.'

'Stars and magic,' John said, winking at EJ. 'I like him more and more.'

'Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg,' Victoria said.

'That's Bavaria, children,' Rose explained.

Victoria turned to Sir Robert. 'When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported.'

John remembered the direction of the conversation. 'So, what's this wolf, then?'

Robert's face blanched. 'It's just a story,' he said nervously.

'Then tell it,' John prompted, watching Father Angelo.

Robert hesitantly started the tale. 'It's said that . . .'

'Excuse me, sir,' Angelo interrupted. 'Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark.'

'Why?' John asked, giving Angelo his icy stare. 'What happens when it gets dark?'

Robert ignored the confrontation and forced his lips into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. 'Of course. Yes, of course.'

'And then supper. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight,' Victoria said with a hint of mischief in her voice.

'So there is, Ma'am,' Robert agreed, trying to keep the smile on his face.

* * *

Rose had taken the children to Lady Isobel's bedroom, and they were sitting on the bed. 'Okay kids, that's enough adventuring for one day. Me and yer dad have got to go to work.'

'Hey. I've just realised, you'll be doin' Torchwood stuff in Torchwood House,' EJ said with a cheeky grin.

Rose gave him a wry smile. 'Yeah, very witty. Now, let's get you safe and sound.'

['Heads up Love. I think trouble's on the way,'] she felt John think in her head.

['Yeah. Last time there were two of 'em who jumped us. I'll take care of it,'] she thought back.

She took her smart phone out of her Victorian purse, and selected the TARDIS app. The bedroom filled with the familiar sound of time and space being warped out of shape to allow the TARDIS to elbow its way into the room. They went inside, through the console room and into the kitchen / dining room, where Rose programmed the food replicator to produce their supper.

'Okay kids. You've just got time to wash your hands and your meals will be ready.'

Whilst the children went to wash their hands, Rose went to the wardrobe to change into her Torchwood uniform, and collect a gun-like fire extinguisher, similar to the one she and Mickey had used against clockwork robots on a derelict spaceship.

Outside the TARDIS, in the grand house, the monks dressed as butlers were handing out hot beverages to the redcoat soldiers who were stationed in the hallways and around the grounds. The beverages however, had an extra ingredient, added by the monks to further their plans.

Rose returned to the dining room, where the children were sat at the table waiting to be fed. She dished out the meals and poured glasses of Vitex for each of them.

'Once you've finished eating you can watch TV for an hour, and then it's time for bed. Okay?' Rose said.

'Oh do we have to?' they moaned in unison as they ate.

Rose smiled at them. 'Welll. An hour and a half then. But then it's definitely time for bed.'

'Yay!'

She went around the table and gave each of them a kiss. 'See you all later. And don't forget, the TARDIS will be child minding, so behave.'

'We will!'

Rose picked up the fire extinguisher and stepped out of the TARDIS, making her way over to a wardrobe where she presumed a maid called Flora would be hiding. She opened the door, and Flora let out a yelp of fear. Rose crouched down and held her shoulders.

'It's all right. It's all right. I'm here to help. My name's Rose. It's Flora isn't it?' Rose said reassuringly.

Flora nodded. 'They came through the house. In the excitement they took the Steward and the Master, and my Lady.'

'I know. Don't worry. Me and my husband are trained for this, and there are plenty of soldiers around. I want you to stay here until I come to fetch you. Okay?'

'Yes miss,' Flora said with a nod of agreement.

'Good girl. Now, it's time for me to go to work.' Rose stood up and went to the door. She smiled at Flora and stepped into the hallway.

The two redcoats in the hallway were surprised to see the lady who had previously been dressed as a lady when she entered the bedroom, now dressed as a man in a black, paramilitary uniform and carrying a very large gun.

'All right lads?' she asked with a cheeky smile.

'Er, yes miss. All quiet,' one of the soldiers answered.

'Didn't fancy a brew then?' she said, looking at the still full mugs in their hands.

'No miss. Captains orders were to accept any beverages or food offered, but not to partake of them,' the other soldier informed her.

'Quite right too. They always told you not to drink the water when you went abroad on holiday,' Rose joked.

At that moment, two of the monks came around the corner, expecting to collect the unconscious bodies of the shoulders. The soldiers made to reach their rifles off their shoulders, and the monks moved forward to stop them.


	3. The Beast In The Basement

**Chapter 3**

 **The Beast In The Basement**

John was in the dining room with Queen Victoria, Sir Robert, and Captain Reynolds, whilst Rose took the children to safety upstairs. Outside the door, Father Angelo spoke quietly to two of his monks.

'I do not trust this Doctor Smith. Find his wife and children and take them to the cellars.'

'At once Father,' they responded.

Angelo entered the room carrying a crystal decanter of port on a silver tray. 'Your wife begs an apology, Doctor. Tending to your children has somewhat delayed her.'

['Heads up Love. I think trouble's on the way,'] John thought to his wife.

['Yeah. Last time there were two of 'em who jumped us. I'll take care of it.']

'Oh, that's all right. Save her a plate of food. With three children to look after, she's used to eating cold meals,' John said with a lopsided smile.

'So that's why she has such a good figure,' Victoria said with a hint of a smile. 'She eats a lot of salad.'

Reynolds laughed inappropriately. 'Very wise, Ma'am. Very witty.'

Victoria looked disapprovingly at the captain. 'Slightly witty, perhaps. I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury.'

'Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am,' the embarrassed captain said.

John broke the awkward atmosphere. 'Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert. Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares.'

'Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction,' Victoria announced.

John recognised that tone of voice. He'd heard it at Dårlig Ulv Stranden when Rose thought she would never see him again. It was the sound of someone pretending to be strong, whilst inside they were crying out in despair. 'You must miss him.'

'Very much,' Victoria said looking at him. And then he saw her expression change, and he'd seen that before as well. A look of loss and longing. 'Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation . . . The dead stay silent, and we must wait.' She sighed, and attempted a smile. 'Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters.'

John heard the wind howling through the eaves, only he heard it without the perception filter. It was the sound of the TARDIS materialising upstairs.

Sir Robert looked off into the distance as he spoke, as if seeing the events he was about to describe. 'The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found . . . ripped apart and devoured.'

'Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves,' Reynolds scoffed. 'Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that.'

'But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead,' Robert continued.

'Are there descriptions of the creature?' John asked, knowing the answer but wanting confirmation that this really was a parallel event.

'Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal,' Robert told him.

John nodded to himself. 'A werewolf?'

'My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should have listened.' Robert became agitated and gave furtive glances around the room. 'His work was hindered. He made enemies.' He gave a quick glance towards his butler, who was moving towards a window. 'There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations.'

John watched Father Angelo gaze out at the moon and start chanting "lupus deus est".

'Perhaps they thought his work ungodly,' Victoria reasoned.

'That's what I thought,' Robert replied urgently. 'But now I wonder. What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet . . ? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?'

John looked deliberately at Angelo. 'And what if they were with us right now?'

'Lupus deus est. Lupus deus est,' Angelo was chanting, louder and louder.

'What is the meaning of this?' Victoria asked, standing up.

Reynolds stood and drew his revolver. 'Explain yourself . . . Sir Robert?'

'What's happening?' Victoria demanded.

'I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife,' Robert explained.

'Don't worry Sir Robert. We're taking care of that,' John reassured him. 'Captain. Keep that gun trained on the butler. Sir Robert, with me. Come on!' John ran out of the room, with Sir Robert close behind.

Captain Reynolds kept his revolver trained on the chanting monk. 'Tell me, sir. I demand to know your intention!'

'Lupus deus est. Lupus deus est.'

'What is it that you want?' Reynolds demanded.

Angelo turned to face him. 'The throne.' He struck Reynolds' arm and knocked the revolver from his hand, before striking him on the side of the head to knock him unconscious. There was a mournful howl which echoed through the house.

'I take it, sir, that you halted my train to bring me here?' Victoria said.

'We have waited so long for one of your journeys to coincide with the moon,' Angelo explained.

'Then you have waited in vain. After six attempts on my life,' Victoria started, as she rummaged in her bag. 'I am hardly unprepared.' She pointed a small pistol at the monk.

Angelo gave her a lopsided smile. 'Oh, I don't think so, woman.'

Victoria straightened up. 'The correct form of address is Your Majesty.' She held her arm out straight and pulled the trigger.

* * *

John and Robert ran down the passageway and through the open door of the cellar.

'Oh Hiya,' Rose said, and stole a quick kiss.

'Hello,' John replied and looked at the crate, where the young man was now a magnificent young wolf. 'How's that distant relative of yours?'

Rose rolled her eyes and smiled. 'Don't you start. Come on, let's get this lot out of here.'

The werewolf broke out of the cage. 'Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!' John shouted.

'Come on,' Rose urged, and they ushered everyone out of the cellar.

John couldn't resist a quick look of admiration at the Heamovariform, before a piece of the cage flew past his head. He ran out and locked the door with his sonic screwdriver. There was a spine chilling howl from the other side of the door.

'Right. You get the ladies to the kitchen,' John said to Rose as he sonicked all the manacles.

'And you take the men to protect the queen,' Rose responded.

They stole a quick kiss. 'Love the uniform,' John said with an eyebrow waggle.

'Shut up,' Rose said with a grin.

John led Robert, the real Butler, the Steward, the Groundsman, the Gamekeeper and the Stable Lads along the passageway and up the stairs to the ground floor. The Steward stopped at a cupboard, took out a set of keys, and opened the cupboard. It was full of guns.

'What are you doing?' John asked.

The Steward handed out the contents of the gun cupboard to the men. 'Arms, and you five. Ready, everyone?'

John threw his arms in the air in frustration. 'GUNS, GUNS, GUNS! What is it with humans and guns?'

'Did you not see that beast in the cellar sir?' the Steward asked. 'It was unnatural.'

'Yes. I saw it,' John told him. 'And that's the point. It's unnatural. These weapons won't harm it. They'll just . . . annoy it.'

'Then what should we do? Swear and curse at it?' the Steward said angrily.

'Look. I know you like to be all macho and blast the hell out of some defenceless birds with your big guns. But right now, the women of the house are in the kitchen concocting a weapon which will halt this beast in its tracks. Now your duty is to the master of the house and to your monarch. Now come with us and protect the queen,' John said with the authority of the oncoming storm.

The Steward stared back defiantly. 'I'll not retreat. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive an assault from these weapons.'

'And if it's not of God's Earth?' John turned to Sir Robert. He knew these men would obey their master. 'Sir Robert . . ? Please.'

Robert saw the look on John's face. An expression of sadness, and a look in his eyes which said he did not want to witness anymore death. 'Steward. You and the men will do your duty. For queen and country.'

'Oof. I've heard that before,' John muttered, remembering what Rose's mum had said about Yvonne Hartman's last words as a human. 'I hope this doesn't end the same way.

'So. What are we to do Doctor Smith?' Sir Robert asked him.

'If that thing wants the queen, then we're going to make sure it finds her.'

Sir Robert was aghast. 'What? But that is treason! I can't let you do it.'

'That beast will go after the queen whether we like it or not. But don't worry Sir Robert, there's one thing the beast hasn't taken into account,' John said with a scary look in his eyes.

'And what is that?'

'Me!'

'Then what are we waiting for? Let us make haste,' Robert said, Now his beloved Isobel was safe, he was eager to redeem his good name.

'Oh I like you Sir Robert. Allons-y!'

The team ran along the the hallway into the main reception hall. Reynolds' men had some monks sitting on the floor with their hands on their heads. Queen Victoria was coming down the main staircase.

'Your Majesty? Your Majesty!' Robert called out in relief.

'Sir Robert? What's happening? I heard such terrible noises,' she said.

'Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?' Robert asked.

'Captain Reynolds disposed of him,' she lied.

'Your Majesty. There is a large wolf-like creature abroad in this house, and it is intent on biting you so that it can infect you with a terrible disease.'

'Stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf,' Victoria protested. There was a yelping howl to refute that belief.

They heard footsteps coming down the stairs and saw the red coat of Captain Reynolds. 'For God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty.'

'I have it. It's safe,' Victoria replied.

'In that case your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health,' John said. 'Captain, have your men detain the prisoners in the cellar. They can see how they like it. Then have them go to the kitchen. Lady Isobel has a potion which will keep the beast at bay . . . Oh I like that. "The beast at bay". Come on!' He set off up the stairs.

'You men. To the cellar, and then send word to the rest of the platoon to regroup in the kitchen. And see that the women are safe,' Reynolds ordered, and then set off up the stairs after the rest of the group. 'But why don't we just get everyone outside?' Reynolds asked as he caught up with them.

'What, you reckon you can outrun a seven foot wolf? It will just make it easier for it to catch the queen,' John explained.

'So we delay the inevitable by skulking about like mice in a maze,' Victoria said.

'No Ma'am,' John said. 'We're going to lure it into a trap.'

'And how do we do that?' she asked.

'Ah. Yes . . . Let's just keep climbing shall we.'

['John. If you're on the main staircase, the werewolf is moving along the hallway towards you. I think it's got the queen's scent,'] Rose told him in his head.

At the next turn, they heard a growl from the hallway, and saw the werewolf stalking towards them.

['Ah. Yeah. We see him,'] John thought back.

'Remove yourself, Ma'am,' Reynolds commanded taking out his revolver. 'Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown.'

'Bullets can't stop it!' John told him

'They'll buy you time. Now run!' Reynolds turned to face the wolf with his head held high. The wolf reared up and growled. Reynolds fired his revolver, but the wolf didn't even seem to notice the bullets hitting it's hide. It bared its enormous teeth and prepared to strike.

"Clang!"

As the teeth descended towards the captain's neck, Sir Robert struck a left hook to the wolf's jaw with an ornamental shield which he had pulled off the wall. He had also grabbed one of the cross swords, and hacked at the wolf's neck.

The wolf roared in anger, and swatted Reynolds aside with its massive forearm, flinging him down the stairs, past John to the turning below. It's massive paws then slammed into Robert's shoulders, forcing him to stumble backwards into Queen Victoria. They fell to the floor in a tangled heap, where the wolf leaped on top of them, snarling menacingly and snapping its jaws at the queen.

Robert was using the shield to deflect the vicious teeth as John reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He set it to three four seven, an ultrasonic modulated waveform, pointed it at the wolf, and pressed the button. The wolf reared up and howled. The sonic was acting as an ultra loud dog whistle.

But it wasn't the sonic that made it howl. There was a spray of liquid coming from the hallway which covered the wolf's fur. It leaped over Robert and Victoria and ran on down the hallway, away from a figure dressed in black.

Rose lowered the extinguisher gun and rested it against her waist. 'Wotcha,' she said with a bright smile. 'D'ya like my big gun?'

John laughed. 'Hah! I don't say this very often, but yeah, I love your big gun.' They hugged and kissed. 'It works as planned then?'

'Yeah. Like a dream. I've been followin' Fang all over the house, keepin' 'im from eatin' people. A quick blast from this, and he runs off howlin' like a banshee.'

'Fang?' John queried.

'Well I had to give it a nickname. Couldn't keep callin' it Heamovariform now, could I?'

John raised an eyebrow and shrugged. It was a fair point. Reynolds joined them from below, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

'You all right?' John asked him.

'Battered and bruised, sir. But ready and able to fight,' he replied.

'Good man,' John told him. He turned to the Queen who was sitting on the floor and held out his hand. 'Your Majesty. Are you all right?'

'A slight loss of dignity, which is easily dealt with by standing up,' she said, pulling herself to her feet with John's help. 'There. All done.'

'And Sir Robert, that was quick thinking with the shield,' John said. 'Well done. I think Captain Reynolds owes you an apology.'

The captain gave John a stern look, but John just raised his eyebrows and nodded sideways at Robert. Reynolds looked uncomfortable as he regarded Robert. It had to be said that without Robert's intervention, the queen would have been savaged by the beast. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

'My earlier comment may have been a little harsh,' he admitted.

Sir Robert still looked troubled. 'No Captain. Your comment was accurate.'

Victoria quickly changed the subject. 'Mistress Smith. I see you have had a change of clothing. And what is that device you have there?'

John put his arm around Rose's shoulders. 'This your Majesty, is like a big water pistol, except it's bursting with lectins and viscotoxins from Viscum Album, the oil of the mistletoe.'

'A weapon then?' she asked.

'Well. More of a deterrent than a weapon. A thorough shake of the fur, and when it stops stinging, he'll be back.' He turned to Rose. 'How long have we got?'

'Two or three minutes, and then he'll come a huntin'. I'm sorry Ma'am, but he seems to have your scent now,' Rose said.

'Then I suggest we continue with the plan to trap this beast,' Victoria suggested.

'Onward and upward then,' John said cheerily, and started the final climb up to the Observatory.


	4. Predator Or Prey?

**Chapter 4**

 **Predator Or Prey?**

Rose put her arms out, one towards the soldiers and one towards the monks. 'Don't move! They'll kill you with a single blow before you can get those rifles off your shoulders,' Rose told the soldiers. 'Leave this to me.'

Rose took the strap of her fire extinguisher off her shoulder and rested it against the wall. She faced the monks with her arms held out away from her sides.

'Come on then. An unarmed woman. How hard could it be?' Rose taunted. 'Come and have a go if y'think you're hard enough.'

The monks looked at each other, nodded, and looked at Rose with vicious grins on their faces. They crouched into a fighting pose. Rose turned side on to the monks in a horse riding stance, with her left side towards them. She circled her arms around in a "Bruce Lee" fashion that she was so fond of when she was showing off.

Captain McNab would be rolling his eyes at her if he could see her, but she had her reasons. Her left hand was outstretched towards the monks, her fingers clawed. Her right hand was at her right hip, out of sight.

She blew them a kiss to taunt them and they let out a guttural cry, 'HAH!' before springing to the attack.

ZAP! ZAP!

The monks fell forward, unconscious. Rose had drawn her stun gun and fired it from behind her back. She straightened up and spun her stun gun around her finger before putting it back in it's holster on her utility belt.

'Okay, so I lied about the unarmed bit. Sorry. I'd have loved to exchange a few moves with ya, but I ain't really got the time today. Maybe some other time, yeah.' She looked at the surprised soldiers. 'Get 'em out of sight, tie 'em up and guard 'em.'

'Yes Ma'am.'

She picked up the extinguisher and moved cautiously along the hallway towards the stairs. As she moved to the top of the stairs, a monk dressed in saffron robes grabbed her from behind and held her in a neck lock.

'Oh no you don't,' she gasped as the monk tried to choke her.

She grabbed his forearm and wrist, and put a foot on the stair rail, using it to launch her into a backflip. The monk wasn't expecting this petite female to be able to react like this, and was taken completely by surprise. He overbalanced backwards as Rose landed on her feet, with the monk's wrist and arm still in her grip. She applied a painful arm lock, with the monk's arm over his head and behind his shoulder. She took out her stun gun and shot him in the back of the neck.

'Shocking,' she said to the unconscious monk as he crumpled into a heap on the floor. 'Attacking a woman like that.' She made her way down the stairs, all the way down to the cellars. At the end of the passageway she could see the rough wooden door which led to the cellar containing the beast.

She tried the handle, and the door was locked. She took a step back and applied her military style boot to the lock. It flew open with a crash, and she hurried inside.

'Don't make a sound,' Lady Isobel warned her. 'They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us.'

'Yeah, they would say that,' Rose replied. 'Keeps the hostages afraid and under control.' Rose looked at the cage at the other end of the cellar, and the pathetic looking young man inside it. 'S'funny innit. At the moment he don't look as though he could slaughter a meringue, let alone a room full of people.'

'He's nothing like us,' Isobel told her. 'That creature is not mortal.'

'Oh y'don't have to tell me y'ladyship,' Rose said as she took out a set of lock picks and started to work on the lock that was shackling them to the wall. As she worked, the young man opened his eyes. They were completely black.

'He ain't from around here,' Rose started to explain. 'Well, his body is, but the thing inside 'im ain't.'

'Oh, intelligence,' the young man said.

'Yeah. And I'm not scared of you like this lot are, cos I know you, Heamovariform.'

'It takes a wolf to know a wolf, and there is something of the Wolf about you,' The man said with a sinister smile.

'Yeah. I know. And trust me, you don't want to wake the sleeping wolf in me.'

'Ah yes. You burn like the sun, but all I require is the moon.' At that moment, the cellar doors were flung open, and moonlight shone in on the crate. 'Moonlight!'

The levers in the padlock clicked, and it fell open. The young man removed his cloak as an unnatural wind started to blow through the cellar.

'All of you! Stop looking at it! Don't look. Listen to me. Out through the door. NOW!' Rose instructed.

The young man began his transformation and became more vulpine as John and Sir Robert ran into the room.

'Oh Hiya,' Rose said, and stole a quick kiss.

'Hello,' John replied and looked at the crate, where the young man was now a magnificent young wolf. 'How's that distant relative of yours?'

Rose rolled her eyes and smiled. 'Don't you start. Come on, let's get this lot out of here.'

The werewolf broke out of the cage. 'Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!' John shouted.

'Come on,' Rose urged, and they ushered everyone out of the cellar.

John couldn't resist a quick look of admiration at the Heamovariform, before a piece of crate flew past his head. He ran out and locked the door with his sonic screwdriver.

'Right. You get the ladies to the kitchen,' John said to Rose.

'And you take the men to protect the queen,' Rose responded.

They stole a quick kiss. 'Love the uniform,' John said with an eyebrow waggle.

'Shut up,' Rose said with a grin.

Rose followed John and the men along the passageway until they reached the stairs. The men went up, and Rose led the ladies further along and up the stairs to the kitchen.

'Right girls. We need to boil some pans of hot water,' Rose told them.

'I hardly think this is a time for making tea,' Isobel said sarcastically. She was still in shock at seeing a werewolf.

'Well, we are makin' a brew your ladyship. But it ain't tea. See all that mistletoe? We need to tear it up and put it in the boilin' water.'

'What for?'

'Ammunition,' Rose said cryptically. 'When it's brewed, we're gonna put it in this extinguisher, and we've got ourselves a weapon.'

'Will it kill it?' Isobel asked hopefully.

'Nah. I'm afraid not. But it will allow us to control it and send it where we want it to go.'

'And where would that be?'

'The Observatory.'

While the pans boiled on the stove, Rose unscrewed the six cylinders at the back of the extinguisher and put them on the kitchen counter. 'Okay. Let's start ladling the mistletoe juice into these containers.'

The kitchen staff grabbed some ladles and tried to fill the cylinders. The narrow necks made it difficult though. From the corridor outside the kitchen, they heard a guttural growl which made their flesh creep. All heads turned to the doorway, and they saw the wolf-like creature duck it's head through the opening and sniff the air.

They all screamed, except for Rose, who picked up a ladle full of the mistletoe juice and stepped forward to face the beast. 'Hello again.'

The werewolf roared, but didn't come any further into the kitchen.

'What's the matter, cat got your tongue?' Rose joked. 'Brave cat if it did. Now, if you want to come in here, you'd better get ready for some serious pain.' She looked down at the ladle and back at the beast. 'Y'know what I'm sayin'?'

The Heamovariform bared it's teeth and roared again, before turning around and leaving. Rose let out the breath that she suddenly realised she'd been holding.

'That was amazing Miss,' one of the maids said in awe. 'That's the bravest thing I've ever seen. Weren't you scared?'

'Terrified,' Rose said with a laugh. 'And it's Rose, not Miss. Now let's load this gun.'

Isobel looked around the kitchen. 'If we put the liquid into the kettles, we can use the spouts to fill the bottles.'

'Ooh. Nice one your ladyship. Let's do it.'

With the extinguisher gun loaded, Rose slung it over her shoulder and pressurised the delivery system. 'Right. Now keep the rest of the mistletoe juice handy. If Fang comes back, splash it over him.' She saw the doubt on their faces. 'Trust me, it ain't like Lynx. This'll have the opposite effect.'

The women hadn't got a clue what she was talking about, as Lynx deodorant wouldn't be produce for another hundred years or so.

'And what of you?' Isobel asked.

'Me? Oh I've got a date with destiny. What is it they say, "set a wolf to catch a wolf"?' She gave them her best smile and started singing as she left the kitchen. 'There may be trouble ahead. But while there's werewolves and moonlight and love and romance . . . Let's face the werewolf and dance.'

Maybe it was just reflected candlelight, but in the dark corridor, there was just a hint of golden light in her eyes. She took out her Torchwood scanner and started searching for alien physiology.

'Ah. There you are,' she said to herself as she located the werewolf. Its telemetry was superimposed on a schematic layout of the house, and it was heading towards the main reception hall where a group of people were gathered. 'Oh no you don't.'

She hurried down a hallway and cut through a rather nicely decorated drawing room, to a door on the other side of the room. The scanner showed that the werewolf had passed the door and was heading for a turn further down the hallway. She carefully opened the door, making as little noise as possible, and peeped through the gap. The beast was moving stealthily, sniffing the air for the scent of its quarry.

Rose knew she had to act quickly or it would turn the corner and head for the reception hall. She stepped out into the hallway and raised the extinguisher.

'OI! Beasty Boy. 'Ave some of this.' She aimed the improvised gun and pulled the trigger. There was a spray of liquid out of the end of the weapon which soaked the animal's fur. It yelped and howled like an injured dog, turned away from the turning, and ran off down the hallway. Rose had a big grin on her face. That was way better than a red and blue bucket.

That got her thinking about the old days in the old universe. This was very much like chasing the Hoix. Although the surroundings were a bit more posh. And the last time they had been in this posh house, they had been at a distinct disadvantage. So many people had lost their lives performing selfless acts of bravery, and she would have been one of them if it hadn't been for Lady Isobel throwing that mistletoe juice over the werewolf.

Today though they were armed with knowledge. They knew their enemy, and they knew it's weaknesses. John's idea to fill the extinguisher with mistletoe juice evened the odds and gave them a level playing field. No one needed to die today. Not even the werewolf if it chose not to.

She let the extinguisher rest against her waist and looked at the scanner again. The beast had made it to a staircase at the back of the house. "Probably for the servants", Rose thought to herself.

'Allons-y,' she said and ran down the hallway. Oh she'd missed this. She knew that she had resigned as a field agent for the sake of the children, and she had no regrets. It was the right decision. It didn't mean though that occasionally she didn't miss the excitement, especially when the adrenaline was flowing like it was now.

She came to the narrow staircase and looked up. The werewolf was nowhere to be seen. It must have passed into a hallway above. She quietly climbed the stairs, and the scanner loaded the schematic for the next floor. The alien telemetry was moving quickly down the hallway towards the main staircase, and the scanner also showed that people were moving up.

['John. If you're on the main staircase, the werewolf is moving along the hallway towards you,'] Rose thought to John. ['I think it's got the queen's scent.']

She made it to the top of the stairs and started to jog down the hallway.

['Ah. Yeah. We see him,'] John thought back.

At the end of the hallway, she could see the landing of the stairs, and her heart went into her mouth. Queen Victoria was on the floor, with Sir Robert on top of her, Fending off the wolf with a shield. She ran forward, aimed the improvised gun at the wolf and pulled the trigger. Once again there was a spray of liquid out of the end of the weapon which soaked the werewolf's fur. It arched its back and leaped over the bodies on the floor and away from her along the hallway.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Robert throw the shield to one side and help Victoria to her feet. She lowered the extinguisher gun and rested it against her waist.

'Wotcha,' she said with a bright smile. 'D'ya like my big gun?'


	5. The Trap Within A Trap

**Chapter 5**

 **The Trap Within A Trap**

John led the small group to the doors of the Observatory and pushed them open. 'Right. Everyone inside. We only have a few minutes before it shakes it's fur dry and comes hunting again.'

'Is there any way of barricading this?' Robert asked, examining the doors.

'Just do your work and I'll defend it,' Reynolds volunteered.

'Will you give it a rest!' John said, rolling his eyes in exasperation, 'Have you got a death wish or something? Nobody is going to sacrifice themselves today. Nobody dies . . . Got that? Now shut those doors. Rose, train that gun on the doors. If Fang comes through, just spray the floor in front of him.'

'Got it,' Rose responded.

John turned to Victoria. 'Your Majesty, the diamond.'

'What? You know of the Koh-I-Noor?' Victoria asked as she rummaged in her bag.

'Yes,' John said in his "isn't it obvious" tone of voice. 'And I know of your annual pilgrimage to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead.'

Victoria took the diamond out of her bag and held it up for inspection. 'Yes. My late husband always said the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished,' Victoria said sadly.

'Oh there's a lot of unfinished business in this house,' John said knowingly. 'His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond . . . This house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?'

'Obviously.'

'Wellll, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?' John asked.

Victoria frowned. 'Explain yourself, Doctor Smith.'

'Sir Robert's father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you . . . but for the wolf.'

'What trap?' she asked.

'The telescope. My son spotted it. Do you remember? He noticed that it was a light collector for gathering and concentrating specific wavelengths of light,' John reminded her.

'Yes. A bright boy. You must be very proud. But what has that got to do with the diamond?'

'The Koh-I-Noor diamond is the final piece of the collector. Captain Reynolds? Give me a hand with this,' John said as he moved over to the telescope controls. They started to turn the large wheel to raise the telescope.

As the telescope pointed at the moon, the light refracted through the internal prisms and lit the room. The door crashed open, and the werewolf bounded in. Rose sprayed the floor in front of the beast, and it stopped, looking at the floor suspiciously and sniffing the air.

John slid the diamond over to where the moonlight was hitting the floor. It refracted upwards, and caught the werewolf in its beam and lifted it up off the floor. The wolf transformed back into a young man, hanging as if crucified in mid air.

'Unbelievable,' Reynolds breathed in awe.

'Make it brighter. Let me go,' the young man pleaded, temporarily free of the Heamovariform inside him.

'I can help you,' John said. 'I can find you a planet where you can live in peace.'

'No. That would be the beast inside, not me. This is my chance to be free of it.'

John looked crestfallen. He didn't want anyone to die this time, and yet he had to respect the wishes of the victim of this beast. 'Very well. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'

John adjusted the magnification on the eyepiece, and the young man turned back into an ethereal wolf shape. It howled and vanished. He wound back the magnification, and the telescope went dark. An eerie silence hung over the room.

'Is it done?' Victoria asked quietly, but her voice seemed to echo around the room. 'Have we just witnessed the death of some . . . alien creature?'

John wiped his hand down his face. 'Yes your Majesty. An alien parasite that came to earth in the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth. An almighty fire did burn in the pit. That was in the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery.'

'But that's over three hundred years ago,' Sir Robert realised.

'It adapted slowly down the generations, surviving through the humans, host after host after host,' John explained.

'But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead,' Robert quoted again. 'Dear God. It was all true. And I was party to its scheme.'

'Yes you were Sir Robert, and you will answer for your treason,' Reynolds said in disgust.

'Captain Reynolds!' John said in a voice that reverberated in their heads. 'Both Rose and me knew of the deception when we arrived. The house was taken by a superior force, and Sir Robert was forced into cooperating with the monks. Had he refused, then everyone in this house would have been slaughtered. Sir Robert, tell the captain what I said to you when we arrived.'

'What?' Robert asked in confusion. What did that have to do with his treachery.

'You know. When you said you didn't have any facilities to entertain children. I told you they had great imaginations,' John reminded him.

Robert suddenly remembered. 'Oh yes. You said they would probably make up a story about my scary butler being some kind of mad monk. That gave me hope that you suspected that things were not as they seemed.'

'So Captain, as a soldier you should know that when you face an enemy of superior force, you bide your time, find their weaknesses, and choose your moment to strike when victory seems most likely.'

'Hmm. I suppose so, yes,' Reynolds conceded.

'And isn't treason attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign? Well, we have the sovereign here, so why don't we ask her what she thinks?' John said with raised eyebrows.

Victoria had a lopsided smile on her lips. 'Doctor Smith. Have you ever considered a career in politics?'

'Tried it once. I was a president in a former life, but it wasn't really me. Always been a bit of a rebel,' he replied with a cheeky smile.

'Yes. Quite so,' Victoria said, and turned to Robert. 'Sir Robert. Your actions convinced Father Angelo that his treacherous plan was succeeding, and prevented him from murdering everyone in the house. And on the stairs, you risked your own life to protect me. As far as I am concerned, there is no charge to answer.'

'Thank you for those kind words Ma'am. However, it does not ease my conscience. I put your Majesty in danger.'

Victoria's expression softened. 'Sir Robert. What you did, you did for your wife. Believe me, I know what it is to lose the love of your life. I would not wish that pain and anguish on anyone. Be at peace with your conscience, and cherish every moment you have with your wife.'

'Well. There we are then. Isn't that nice,' John said with a winning smile. 'Oh, and I think this is yours Ma'am,' he said stooping down and picking up the Koh-I-Noor diamond.

'Yes. Thank you,' she said, taking it off him and holding it up to inspect it.

'And after tonight, I think you'll find the cutting is finished. The shine . . . is fine,' John said with a grin.

'A fine shine,' Rose laughed. 'I like that.'

John laughed with her. 'I think it's time we were going.'

Victoria looked shocked. 'What? You are leaving?'

'Yes Ma'am,' Rose said. 'We don't like a lot of fuss. John prefers to just slip away. Disappear so to speak.'

'You mean to cross the moors at night?' Sir Robert asked.

'Why not?' John asked. 'Do you think there might be monsters lurking out there? Oh, and talking about monsters your Majesty, you might want to consider an institute to investigate these strange happenings. I don't know, maybe you could call it the Torchwood Institute or something,' John suggested.

'The Torchwood Institute. I like the sound of that. It shall have a royal charter,' Victoria said with a gleam in her eye.

'Ooh, good idea your Majesty. And perhaps if Sir Robert is still unhappy about his actions today, he could prove himself worthy by directing the activities of the institute,' John said.

'Me?' Robert queried.

'Why not? In my experience, there is no one better to be in charge than someone who has something to prove.'

'Yes,' Victoria said. 'And Captain Reynolds. I charge you with leading a team of elite soldiers to protect the institute in times of peril.'

'Oh that is inspired,' John enthused. 'And now we really must be going.' John gave Victoria a curt bow. 'Your Majesty. It's been an honour.'

Victoria nodded at him in return. 'Doctor Smith, it's been an education.'

John shook hands with Robert and Reynolds. 'Gentlemen. Good luck with the institute.'

Rose curtsied. 'Ma'am. It's been a pleasure.'

'The pleasure has been all mine,' Victoria said with a smile. 'But tell me this, Rose. Who are you? Really?'

Rose blew out her cheeks. 'Phew. That's a tough one. We're just two people tryin' to make a difference. Tryin' to do the right thing.'

'Yes, I can see that. But that beast . . . it's as if you knew its mind. You thwarted it at every turn.'

'Er yeah. We sort of did. It's called a Heamovariform. The werewolf, it's called a Heamovariform. We've met one before, in a house like this actually. It seems a lifetime ago now,' Rose sighed. 'A lot of brave men died that day. We couldn't let that happen again.'

'Your bravery and resolve are to be commended Rose. You should be rewarded for your valour.'

'Thank you ma'am, but that's not really our style. We prefer to slip away quietly. Our reward was being able to prevent anyone from bein' killed.'

'Very well. As you wish. Watch over that husband of yours my dear. I have a feeling he needs someone to look after him.'

Rose laughed. 'Oh your Majesty. You have no idea.'

Sir Robert and the captain kissed Rose's hand, and she smiled at them. 'Gentlemen, be magnificent.'

They said their goodbyes and left the observatory hand in hand, heading towards the bedroom and the waiting TARDIS.

'So, have we changed history then?' Rose asked. 'When we get back, will we have a monarchy?'

'Well, I suppose so. But then again, as you know, when time is in flux, unexpected things can happen,' John replied.

They reached the bedroom, and John opened the door for Rose to enter. There was a gasp and an "eek" from the dim shadows in the corner of the room.

'Is that you, Miss?' a timid voice asked from behind the TARDIS.

'Flora!' Rose called out, having forgotten that she had told her to stay in the room.

Flora peeped from behind the wooden box and burst into tears of relief. Rose took the strap of the extinguisher off her shoulder and gave it to John before holding out her arms and beckoning her into a hug.

'Come here. It's all right, it's all right Sweetheart,' Rose said comfortingly, rubbing and patting her back. 'The monks are in the cellar, under arrest, and Lady Isobel is safe in the kitchen with the soldiers and the rest of the staff.'

'It's all over?' Flora asked.

'Yeah. It's all over,' Rose confirmed. 'Why don'tcha make your way down to the kitchen. I'm sure they'll be worried about'cha.'

'Yes, of course. Thank you Miss.'

'Off you go then,' Rose said kindly, giving her a warm smile. She watched her leave the bedroom, and noticed that John was looking at her with a warm smile of his own. 'Wha?'

He leaned forwards and kissed her on the lips. 'I love you.'

Rose gave him her tongue-between-the-teeth smile. 'Quite right too.'

John laughed. 'Hah! Come on then, let's go and look in on the kids. I love to watch them sleeping.'

Rose put her key in the lock and pushed the door open to step inside. They went through the console room, John dropping the extinguisher on the jump seat as he started the Time Rotor to put them into the Vortex. They went into the passage that led to the bedrooms, and gently opened the door to Jason's room.

He was lying on his back with the duvet halfway over his body, one leg sticking out, and his pyjama top riding up to show his belly. Rose crept forward to gently place his leg back under the duvet, and pull down his top. Her lips brushed his forehead and he stirred slightly with a contented sigh. Rose hugged John's arm and rested her head on his shoulder as they just stood there for a few minutes watching him breath gently.

The next bedroom along was Eyeulf's. He was lying on his side with the duvet up around his shoulders. His unruly hair spread over his pillow. Ricky the Cyberdog lifted his head to look at them and then lowered it back down into his charging basket when his processor recognised them. His parents smiled at their peaceful sleeping son. After filling their emotional tanks with love, they moved to Juleshka's room.

She was also sleeping on her side, with her arm draped over her teddy bear. Rose was reminded of her own old teddy, in her old room, in her old flat, in her old universe. The blue, furry Mr Tedopoulos got left behind when she fell into this universe. Mom's old flat would have been cleared out after they had left, and she hoped he had gone to a good home.

'Y'know, when I was chasin' Beasty Boy through the house,' Rose whispered. 'I felt the old thrill and excitement that I used to get in the old universe.'

John looked at her with raised eyebrows. 'Do you miss it?'

'In the moment I did, yeah. But then I come back here and see the kids all safe and peaceful. I wouldn't miss this for the world. We have a lot of friends who are more than capable of dealing with everything the universe throws at them, and I'm content to use my experience to supervise and coordinate them,' Rose told him.

'Your considerable experience,' John reminded her.

'Yeah. Okay. My considerable experience,' Rose agreed with a grin. They left Juleshka's room and headed for their own room. 'And what about you? Do you miss it?'

'Are you kidding?' John said, in a way that made her think that he did. 'Nine hundred years of finding trouble, of trouble finding me. Losing all my relatives, all my friends, my planet.' They stopped outside their bedroom door and he turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands. 'I never thought that I would be able to have what I have with you. Like you, I wouldn't miss that for any world.' He leaned forward and kissed her lovingly on the lips.

While they were snogging, Rose opened the door behind her, grabbed the lapels of his jacket, and pulled him through the door. She was going to show him that she also hadn't thought she would be able to have what she now had with him when they were in the old universe.


	6. Destiny Or History

**Chapter 6**

 **Destiny Or History?**

 **Northumberland Place.**

 **Notting Hill, London.**

The TARDIS materialised in the basement of the Smith's Notting Hill home with the usual wheezing, grinding noise. The door opened, and the children hurried out, followed by a robotic dog which scampered after them.

['Afternoon you lot,'] Donna-the-house said in greeting.

'Hiya Donna,' they called back as they ascended the stairs.

'Gustave and Marguerite where a lovely couple, weren't they?' Rose said about the Eiffel family, as she stepped out after them.

'Yeah,' John agreed as he locked the door of the TARDIS. 'He was a brilliant engineer, and he did significant work in meteorology and aerodynamics as well.'

'And he certainly took a shine to EJ,' Rose said proudly.

'Of course he did. He's got his dad's brains hasn't he.'

Rose laughed. 'But not his ego.'

John waggled his eyebrows. 'That Marguerite was a bit of a party animal though, wasn't she?'

'Oh yeah. I'd have loved to have invited her to our Tuesday "girls nights in". And it would have been a way of sayin' thanks for takin' us out to the theatre and that restaruant.'

['I thought you were goin' for a fact findin' visit for EJ's school project,'] Donna said.

'We were . . . I mean, we did,' John replied. 'But you know how these things go.'

['Downhill very quickly from what I can recall,'] Donna replied with humour in her voice.

'Oh, which reminds me. Donna, is Great Britain a republic or has it got a monarchy?' Rose asked as they climbed the stairs.

['Yer what?']

'Great Britain. Has it got a president, or has it got a prime minister and a queen?' Rose asked again more slowly, hoping Donna's positronic brain would understand the question this time.

['How much did you and this Marguerite have to drink?']

Rose frowned at the ceiling. 'Well, quite a bit really. But what's that got to do with it?'

['I was just tryin' to work out why you would have forgotten that Harriet Jones is in her third term as president is all.']

'Ah. So there is no monarchy then,' Rose said with a hint of sadness. 'I wonder what we did wrong?'

John put an arm around her shoulder. 'We didn't necessarily do anything wrong. It might be that in this universe, when Edward the Eighth abdicated to marry Wallace Simpson, Stanley Baldwin's government might have called for a referendum to dissolve the monarchy. After all, this is a parallel world, not an exact copy.'

'Oh yeah. I see what y'mean. I suppose I'll have to "Search-Wise" it later.'

So, after they had eaten their evening meal, and the children had gone to bed, Rose snuggled up on the sofa with John and went to the website on her tablet. There was no definitive information on Queen Victoria or the dissolution of the monarchy in the nineteen seventies. The conspiracy sites had plenty of theories, including the werewolf one which they already knew about.

Official sources cited Princess Margaret's numerous affairs with rich and famous lovers, including some racy photographs which were stolen in a bank heist of safe deposit boxes. Prince Charles's clandestine liaisons with Camilla Parker Bowles while he was officially courting Diana Spencer was also a reason the government claimed that the monarchy were no longer the bastion of acceptable british standards.

Rose logged onto the Torchwood archive, and searched the database there. The information was the same as it had always been in this world. Queen Elizabeth II had seen out her silver jubilee in 1977, and a year later there had been an incident that leaked out into the public domain.

Once a month, for ninety nine years, Torchwood had been protectors of the royal secret. For the two nights of the full moon, those members of the royal family who were infected by the Heamovariform parasite would be contained as they transformed into alien wolves.

On Tuesday, 20 June 1978, at 09:30:30 pm, there was an incident where a member of the royal household was injured by a transformed royal. The name of the royal was not stated in the report, probably because they were difficult to tell apart as wolves. Torchwood managed to contain the incident and control the media reports, but the damage was done.

The Prime Minister at the time, Jim Callaghan, had called an emergency cabinet meeting with the then director of Torchwood, where it was decided that for the safety of the royal household, the monarchy should be dissolved. A cover story was invented, and the infected members of the royal family were moved to a remote Pacific island to live out their lives in comfort.

The United Kingdom became the People's Republic of Great Britain, and Margaret Thatcher became its first president. Buckingham Palace became a museum to the monarchy of Great Britain, and the royal palaces were converted into plush hotels and conference centres for visiting dignitaries and delegations from overseas.

On the royal island, royal relatives were free to come and go, except for the two nights of the full moon, where all staff and visitors were evacuated. The family who were infected still had that royal sense of duty, and knew that they were a danger to all of humanity when they were transformed. So for forty eight hours every month, they had the island to themselves and they hunted the livestock which was left there for them.

On the morning of the third day, the staff returned to the island and started cleaning up. Gamekeepers gathered up the remains of the slaughtered livestock, some of which was used to feed the Corgi's, and the rest was sent to wildlife parks to feed the big cats.

Rose nestled her head into John's shoulder. 'Y'know, I really thought we'd done it this time. I mean, in the Observatory we managed to contain the wolf with that mistletoe juice before we hit it with the moonlight.'

John put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. 'Yeah. She must have gotten bitten before then.'

'Still. It all seems to work,' Rose observed. 'Okay, so they're sort of prisoners in a gilded cage, but they've got all the luxuries and comforts of modern life.'

'The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator,' John started. 'While the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.'

'Oh that's clever. Who said that?' Rose asked.

'That renowned statesman and orator, Abe Lincoln.'

'Did you ever meet him?'

'A couple of times, yeah. I drew him a map of the confederate lines at Gettysburg once. Oh, and I thwarted an assassination in Richmond,' John explained.

'Hold on. I happen to know he got assassinated,' Rose told him.

'That was Washington. I tried to tell him it was a bad idea to go to the theatre that night. And not just because of the reviews,' he said with a cheeky smile. 'But he knew his own mind, and that was his destiny . . . just as meeting that wolf was Queen Victoria's.'

'Yeah. I suppose,' Rose agreed with a distant look in her eyes.

* * *

 **Torchwood House.**

 **Near the Glen of Saint Catherine.**

 **Cairngorms, Scotland.**

'Captain Reynolds. Do you have a medic in your platoon?' Victoria asked.

'Yes Ma'am. Private Ramsey. Are you ill or injured Ma'am? Should I send for a physician?' Reynolds replied.

'No Captain. I'm fine. I sustained a slight cut from Sir Robert's sword when he was protecting me from the beast.'

'Ah. Not a trained soldier I'm afraid, Ma'am. You may have been in more peril from Sir Robert than the beast Ma'am,' Reynolds said with a smug expression.

'And yet he saved my life,' she replied with a scowl. 'Know this Captain, we are not amused by this bad feeling towards Sir Robert. As you will be working under him in the future, I suggest you make your peace with him.'

Captain Reynolds looked suitably chastised. 'Yes Ma'am. Sorry Ma'am. Would you like Ramsey to look at the cut Ma'am.'

'No need Captain. It is only a small cut. It has already stopped bleeding. If you have his first aid kit delivered to my room, I can put some iodine on it and dress it with a bandage. After all, I'd hate to survive the attack of a werewolf, only to succumb to an infected cut,' she said with a wry smile.

'As you wish Ma'am. I'll have him deliver it forthwith.'

'Thank you Captain. And I will retire for the night. Goodnight to you.'

'Night Ma'am.'

Later, in the guest bedroom, Queen Victoria had changed into her nightgown, and was sitting on the bed in the guest bedroom of Torchwood House. She opened the field first aid kit and took out the small brown glass bottle of iodine solution. She pulled at the sheet of cotton wool and rolled it into a small ball before putting it over the opening of the bottle and turning it upside down.

She put the small bottle on the bedside table and winced as she dabbed the brown cotton wool on the small puncture wounds on her forearm. "How strange", she thought, "that it should hurt now, and yet at the time One felt nothing".

The wounds and the blood had not been evident against the black cloth of her dress, and at the time of the attack, when Sir Robert was using the shield to protect her, she had not realised that she had been bitten. She took a strip of lint from the kit and placed it over the wounds and started to wrap a bandage around the dressing.

She remembered the words of Doctor Smith. "Your Majesty. There is a large wolf-like creature abroad in this house, and it is intent on biting you so that it can infect you with a terrible disease". What kind of disease? How would it manifest itself? She hoped that the iodine solution would kill any infection so that she could continue to rule over her kingdom and empire.


End file.
